Harbor portal cranes
Harbor Portal cranes are a type of mobile harbor crane (MHC) where instead of a trolley, a gantry is used on which the crane tower is mounted. The main advantage of the gantry is that vehicles such as lorries or railway trains can drive underneath it. The following are the main characteristics of a gantry crane.
The main characteristics of a portal crane are as follows
- Boom outreach. This parameter determines what class of vessels the portal crane will be able to handle by increasing the operating radius.
- Lifting capacity. Lifting capacity determines for what purposes and with what attachments the portal crane can be used.
- Number of winches. An additional, second winch is used to efficiently drive the mechanical attachments of the portal crane.
- Diesel or electric drive. Depending on the workplace set-up, different portal crane drive solutions can be used. Due to their limited mobility and fixed working location, harbor portal cranes are more often powered by the terminal power supply, which is the more typical solution.
- Gantry. The gantry of the crane can have different configurations such as height, span and pneumatic wheel or rail travelling.
- Boom. The portal crane can be equipped with either a straight boom like the mobile harbor crane (MHC) or an articulated boom. The advantage of the articulated boom is that the vertical alignment of the goods is achieved mechanically by the design of the boom. This reduces the length of the hoisting rope in the air and thereby increases the resistance to swinging, also due to wind. Whereas with a straight boom, sway suppression and goods levelling by the crane control system is necessary. The effect of the wind on the longer hoisting rope in the air remains high.
Advantages of the portal crane
- Productivity. Gantry application can significantly increase productivity by reducing the time per working cycle. This is achieved by the fact that the crane tower only needs to be rotated to the middle of the gantry, rather than beyond it, as the vehicle is under the gantry rather than sideways. Also, the portal crane allows it to be placed in locations with more cramped space. It effectively takes up less space on the terminal surface than the same mobile harbor crane, under whose trolley a vehicle cannot pass.
- Travel. A portal crane does not need to raise and lower baseplates to move around the job site as with a mobile harbor crane (MHC). This allows a single crane to work more efficiently where constant crane movement is required, such as for ship handling where there are not enough cranes to cover the entire field of operations.
Transporting a harbor portal crane
Due to their specific nature, harbor portal cranes are used in enterprises (ports, terminals, production facilities and shipyards) that have their own quayside. For this reason, most harbor portal cranes are delivered to the end user in assembled form by sea. However, the harbor portal crane is also designed to be dismantled for subsequent transport by various types of transport.
Cost of harbor portal crane
The price of a harbor portal crane can vary considerably depending on factors such as lifting capacity, boom outreach, number of winches, or gantry configuration. An important factor in the cost of delivery is logistics. Depending on the complexity of the shipment (distance, land transport, restrictions along the route or at the destination), the transport of a harbor portal crane can account for 20% of its cost.
Conclusion
The harbor portal crane is an extremely interesting lifting equipment that has an extremely wide range of possible applications. The solutions applied can either solve the problems of not being able to use a mobile harbor crane (MHC) or significantly optimise and speed up operations.
Portal cranes FAQ
A portal crane is a type of mobile harbor crane mounted on a gantry under which vehicles such as trucks or railway trains can pass. This crane is designed to handle various types of goods in seaports, river ports and terminals.
A portal crane consists of a slewing tower mounted on a gantry, a boom (straight or articulated), a hoist mechanism with one or two winches and an operator's cab. The gantry can have different configurations, including height, span and type of travel (pneumatic wheel or rail).
The main characteristics include boom outreach, lifting capacity, number of winches, type of drive and gantry design. These parameters determine what class of vessels and what types of goods the crane can handle, as well as its capacity.
The main advantages include the ability to position vehicles under the gantry, which increases productivity and saves space in the terminal. Portal cranes are also better suited to working in tight spaces than mobile cranes on trolleys.
Most portal cranes are delivered to their destination in assembled form by sea. If necessary, the crane can be disassembled for multimodal transport involving land and rail routes.
The cost of a portal crane depends on lifting capacity, boom outreach, number of winches and gantry configuration. Logistics can make up a significant part of the cost, especially if complex transport over long distances or with travel restrictions is required.
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